Counties Seeking Reach Strategy

Still flustered by the near-certain creation of a national
monument at Hanford, county officials met Friday in
Pasco to plot their opposition.

That could lead to a legal challenge of an expected
presidential order designating the Hanford Reach and
surrounding lands as a monument.

"We're certainly not consenting to it," said Sue Miller,
Franklin County commission chairwoman.

On Tuesday, Interior Department Secretary Bruce
Babbitt toured the 51-mile stretch of river above Richland
by boat and crossed the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve by
bus. Before leaving, he made it clear that protecting the
unique natural features of the area was a priority for the
Clinton administration.

Babbitt's stance was applauded by Washington
environmental groups.

"This is a shining moment to protect this national
treasure," said Bill Arthur at the Sierra Club in Seattle.
He urged politicians to stop fighting federal agency
efforts to create a long-term protection plan for the best
fall chinook spawning ground in the Columbia Basin.

"It's time to save this amazing natural resource," he said
Friday. "Who will really benefit from holding off on this
deal? Not salmon. Not children. And not communities."

Babbitt said a recommendation to the president could be
made by the end of June, giving county commissioners a
few weeks to research ways to forestall a federal
mandate.

"Anything is being considered," Miller said after her
closed-door meeting with the lead commissioners from
Benton and Grant counties. "We're trying to assess our
position ... to just strategize and look into all kinds of
alternatives."

Even before Babbitt arrived, counties tried to forestall
monument designation by appealing to President Clinton
for a personal visit before issuing an executive order.

Among their chief concerns are expectations for county
fire control and police support at the monument, public
access to land and water and the future of development
as Hanford is cleaned up.

County staff likely will be looking across the country at
communities near national monuments to see what kinds
of legal challenges have been raised and if any have
been successful. They should have no trouble finding
allies - Clinton's use of the Antiquities Act to create
monuments has raised hackles across the West.

"We are just going to be visiting with some of those other
areas to find out how they dealt with basically this huge
federal land grab, how it impacted them and how they
reacted," said Deborah Moore, Grant County
commission chairwoman.

County leaders fear national monument status will not
allow for enough local direction on how the lands are
managed. The land under consideration already is under
federal control as part of the Hanford reservation and its
buffer zone.

Moore said the counties are planning to try to rally
political support at the local, state and federal levels
before deciding what to do.

But a lawsuit isn't the only idea commissioners are
studying.

They also are considering ways to help develop the
federal management plan that will address land and
water use in the national monument.

"We need to be prepared if this designation does come
down to bring forth our concerns and our issues in the
management plan," said Benton County Commissioner
Max Benitz Jr.